I don't know what many supporters have against Cole Caufield. For some reason they hate it and distrust it. Like he started flirting with her sister.
I read too much and hear too many sports commentators get sucked into giving importance to a small group of fans saying something. But it's not just a few people here who seem to hate Caufield. There are many.
Especially since the improvement of Jurai Slafkovsky. The latter should be sanctified, while Caufield is made good for nothing.
And I don't understand why.
It's true that Messiah Slafkovsky has been solid in his last 12 games. He has 11 points.
Caufield, the no-good guy, has 12.
The double for Caufield –
If he doesn't score a point in his last two games, he will finish his season with 64 points. At 23, I remember him.
That will be the 134e best season in Canadian history and he would be the 17th youngest player to reach that point. Not so bad in 114 years.
It's like Jacques Lemaire at the same age, Yvan Cournoyer at 26, Bobby Smith at 24, Guy Lafleur at 20 or Mats Naslund at 24.
It will be the 9the Player since 2000 who has reached this plateau.
He is the 5the best scorer of his draft year, despite being selected in the 15the Rank.
If he doesn't score, is he useless?
What I hear most often from Caufield's critics is that he's useless if he doesn't score. While Slafkovsky can be very useful without producing anything.
These people don't watch the same games as me. I asked the Sportlogiq bots if I was the one who was crazy.
Slakovsky is six inches taller and should block many more opponents' passes than Caufield. But no. Cole is better (2.5 per game).
The big Slovakian should also spear more pucks. But no, they both do the same thing.
Plus, Slafkovsky is -19 this season for a reason. Caufield is -4 and is among the team's best in this regard.
The giant Jurai should perhaps commit fewer turnovers than Caufield as he has an easier time protecting the puck. But no, Cole is better. In this regard, he is even in the top 30 in the NHL. And remember, Caufield keeps the puck for an average of 46 seconds per game. That's 15 seconds longer than Slafkovsky.
We can also imagine that CH's first overall pick could generate more scoring chances due to his speed and size when he gets in play with the opponent's puck. Again: No, not at all. Caufield is 33e in the league for that. Slakovsky is 253e.
Not 50 goals, but not bad
My aim is not to condemn Jurai Slafkovsky. He left me out the last time I did it. It's true that his progress is fantastic. He remains significantly better than Caufield in one-on-one duels and blocked shots.
My point is more to make it clear that Cole Caufield is not primarily a tourist. He's had some rough patches this season, but overall it's been far from a bad season.
We would have liked him to score 50 goals. In my opinion, so does he.
I fear that several fans' situation with Caufield is a bit of a microcosm of what will happen with the Canadian next year. We expected Cole to have an exceptional season, but that wasn't the case. It was just a good season. Many expect much better things for CH next year and even a fight for the playoffs. If it's just better, but not much better, then what happens?
The pressure at the Bell Center will increase.
-In collaboration with Sportlogiq
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